Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera targeted for UFC 125 in January

A pair of light heavyweights looking to rebound from recent high-profile losses will likely meet in January in what could easily be viewed as a “must-win” for both contestants involved.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the contest that the UFC is targeting a matchup between Thiago Silva (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Brandon Vera (11-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) at UFC 125.

At least one of the contestants has agreed to the contest, but bout agreements have yet to be distributed.

While not yet officially announced by the promotion, UFC 125 is expected to take plan on Jan. 1, 2011, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Silva returns to the cage one day shy of a full year since his most recent outing, a UFC 108 loss to Rashad Evans in the evening’s main event. Prior to that fight, rumors of an ankle injury spread throughout the MMA community, but Silva’s camp confirmed after the contest that it was actually an ailing back that slowed the Brazilian.

Silva was then scheduled to face Tim Boetsch at August UFC 117 event, but the former title contender re-injured his back and was forced to withdraw from the event.

Despite opening his octagon career with four-straight stoppage victories, Silva is just 1-2 in his past three contests. Due to various periods of inactivity, Silva has registered just one UFC win in the past 27 months.

Meanwhile, Vera fights for the first time since a March loss to fast-rising prospect Jon Jones. “The Truth” was overwhelmed in the contest and suffered multiple facial fractures in the 3 minute and 19 second affair.

Once considered a top prospect in both the heavyweight and 205-pound divisions, Vera is now mired in a two-fight slump and is just 3-5 since December 2006.